Croatian President In Hot Water Over Serbian Chocolate

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic probably wishes she hadn't said anything.

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Croatian President In Hot Water Over Serbian Chocolate

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Talk of strains in relations between neighbors Croatia and Serbia is back on everyone's tongues, this time over chocolate.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic has apologized after handing out Serbian-made chocolate (along with a signed photograph of herself) to kindergarteners to mark Defenders of Dubrovnik Day on December 6.

A Facebook post by an angry parent was published by a Croatian daily, then widely shared by tabloid media. "I had to post this so you can see what kind of country we live in...all this on Defenders of Dubrovnik Day -- bravo."

Grabar-Kitarovic's visit marked the 25th anniversary of the attack during the Croatian war on the historic port city by the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and Serbian paramilitaries. Dubrovnik came under siege from the Yugoslav army and navy in October 1991, but the worst shelling took place two months later, on December 6.

Aside from her visit to the kindergarten, Grabar-Kitarovic also met with veterans of Croatia's fight for independence from Yugoslavia, a conflict that is still fresh in the minds of many locals.

The whole incident might not have been picked apart on social media had it not been for Grabar-Kitarovic's public apology, which has prompted teasing and mockery.

After the incident, she said she was "extremely disappointed" that the chocolates were Serbian, especially because she is a promoter of a "Let's buy Croatian" campaign. She has promised to send Croatian products to the parents whose children received the Serbian chocolates.

It's not the first time that one of Grabar-Kitarovic's photo opportunities has backfired.

On her visit to Canada in late November, she allowed herself to be photographed with a group of men holding a flag resembling that of the Ustasa, a brutal fascist movement that was in power under an Axis-backed protectorate during WWII.

Serbia and Croatia still have major unresolved issues related to the conflicts in the 1990s related to alleged war crimes, refugees, and the use of the Cyrillic alphabet in certain parts of Croatia.